Football: JV Chargers take down Oilers

by Jason Wolverton

Midland Dow junior varsity coach Charlie Stinson has wanted a win for a couple of weeks now.

On Thursday night at Midland Community Stadium, Stinson got a big one.

The Chargers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and then used some key defensive stops to hold off a late charge from Mount Pleasant as Dow came from behind to defeat the visiting Oilers 26-20.

“All year long we’ve been trying to put it together,” Stinson said. “I think we finally got the kids in the spots that they needed to be in and they played hard and they were ready to go and they believed in themselves.”

The Chargers were believing early and often as they controlled play for most of the first half with a power running game. And Dow used that running game to get on the board first when Eli Rytlewski punched it in from the goal line with 3:47 to go in the opening quarter. The PAT was no good as Dow led 6-0.

Dow would score again a few minutes later when they took over on the Oilers’ 12 after a bad snap on a punt attempt. That set up a 4-yard score from Trenton Dunford that extended the Chargers’ lead to 12-0.

After a failed extra point, Dow would kick off to Mount Pleasant and eventually force another punt. But this time the Oilers would get an interception and get the ball back at midfield for their first real scoring threat.

The Chargers came up with a big stop on fourth down after that, but the Oilers would eventually take the momentum into the locker room as they scored on a 35-yard touchdown pass with 11.4 seconds to go in the half. The extra point cut Dow’s lead to 12-7.

The Oilers would pick up right where they left off in the third quarter as they took the lead for the first time on a 15-yard touchdown run with 9:53 to go in the third. The PAT was good to make it 14-12.

The Chargers refused to fold, though, as they picked up a pair of big third-down conversions on their ensuing possession, which was capped off with a Cory Brzak touchdown. Dunford found the end zone on the 2-point conversion as Dow regained the lead, 20-14.

The Chargers’ 69-yard scoring drive was a turning point in Stinson’s mind, as he was pleased with the perseverance the team showed in regaining the lead.

“We’ve been telling the kids the other team is going to score touchdowns,” he said. “They’re going to move the ball on us, but bend don’t break. Go out there and continue to play your game. If they score three, we score four. In 48 minutes of football, we don’t give up for a single second.”

The defense smothered the Oilers’ attack on their next possession to force a punt. That set up the Chargers’ second touchdown of the third quarter, this time with 1.4 seconds to go on a 25-yard touchdown run by Brzak that made it 26-14. The 2-point conversion failed

Not to be outdone, Mount Pleasant came right back and cut into the lead with another touchdown. But the score would remain 26-20 when the extra point was no good.

The Chargers then took the ball downfield and tried to run some time off the clock. Facing fourth down, Dow tried to draw the Oilers’ offsides, but were unable to do so and called a time out. Out of the time out, Jacob Moody dropped back to punt, but instead took the snap and threw downfield. The pass was incomplete and the Oilers took back over.

The decision to run the fake punt came in part from a philosophy Stinson preached before the game. The Chargers were going to keep going forward, he said, no matter how many downs it takes.

“We said it didn’t matter where we were at on the field or what we were doing, we were just going to pound the ball,” he said. “We’re getting first downs. Give us four shots if we need it to get a first down, but we’re going to get the ball into the end zone and score and win this game.”

And that cut throat attitude would pay off for the Chargers as Dunford picked off a pass with just over three minutes left. The Chargers ran some more time off the clock before sending Moody back to punt. This time, he took the snap and got off a perfect kick that rolled out of bounds at the Oilers’ 12 with just over a minute to go.

Things would get a little dicey in the end as the Oilers picked up a couple of first downs and the Chargers were hit with pass interference and unsportsmanlike penalties, but the Chargers’ eventually stopped Mount Pleasant on fourth down and ran out the clock to secure the win.

The Chargers record is now 3-5 as they head into next week’s matchup against Midland High. And while the Chemics will certainly be favored on paper, Stinson says he couldn’t think of a better way to head into the game.

“We’ve needed a win for weeks on end,” he said. “This is a great group of kids, and I’ve been hoping and praying for a win because they’re working hard and they don’t give up. It finally paid off for them tonight, and I’m very happy for them. I can’t say we can go in to the Midland game on a better note. It’s what we were looking for.”

For more photos from Thursday’s game click on “Photo Slideshow” in the top right corner of this article.

Photos by Jason Wolverton